This discussion is in two parts. First, respond to at least three different heroes from the following:
The Ramayana: In Hindu tradition, a hero is responsible to follow his or her dharma. Dharma refers to "right behavior" but has the sense of duty and destiny as well. For the Hindu, each person has a responsiblity to fulfill his or her role in society. To act contrary to that role is to ignore dharma. For woemn, this means that their role is devotion and duty to their husbands. On the other hand, men have to sort through their various social roles and determine where their primary loyalty lies in decisions involving conflicting loyalties. Karma, action or deed, is to be in line with one's dharma. To act contrary to dharma is to negate one's essence. Samsara is the cycle of life with its attendant pain and suffering, a cycle that continues after death with rebirth (reincarnation). How do these ideas explain the behavior of the principal characters in the Ramayana? How do the heroes of the Ramayana compare to other heroes we have examined? How does Rama exemplify the values of his society?
Beowulf: The Norse hero is characterized by loyalty, faithfulness, and courage and skill in battle. The Norse believed that even the gods would die in Ragnarok, the end of the world. Humanity faced an unalterable fate, a wyrd, so it was important to the Norse to fight despite the odds. Each warrior was responsible to defend his lord in battle and avenge him for wrongs. The Norse hero valued eating, drinking, receiving gifts, and achieving fame and honor. What hero traits does Beowulf display? How does he compare to other heroes we have studied? How does Beowulf exemplify the values of his society?
The Nibelungenleid: The Nibelungenleid or Lay of the Nibelung is the Germanic version of the Norse myth Sigurd the Volsung, which we read in Part 7 of Hamilton. Tolkien was heavily influenced by Norse mythology in the making of The Lord of the Rings. What similarities do you see between this story and The Lord of the Rings? What archetypal characteristics do you see in Seigfried? How does Siegfried compare to the other heroes we are studying? How does Seigfried exemplify the values of his society?
The Arthurian Cycle: While Arthur is the principal figure in the Arthurian cycle, there are a number of heroes. Choose any of the characters from the Arthurian cycle and apply one of the hero patterns to the character's life: Campbell's monomyth; Raglan's 22 incidents; Propp's 31 functions.
Lancelot and Guinevere: How does the concept of courtly love help explain the story of Lancelot and Guinevere?
And then, respond to one of the following questions
Greatest hero: Of all of the heroes we have studied, who would you argue is the greatest, and why?
Tragic hero: The following is the definition for hamartia contained in the Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature:
hamartia [?hä-?mär-?te--?] Etymology: Greek hamartía error, fault, a derivative of hamartánein to miss the mark, err, also called tragic flaw.
An inherent defect of character, or the error, guilt, or sin of the tragic hero in a literary work.
Aristotle introduced the term casually in the Poetics in describing the tragic hero as one of noble rank and nature whose misfortune is not brought about by villainy but by some “error of judgment” (hamartia). This imperfection later came to be interpreted as a moral flaw, such as Othello's jealousy or Hamlet's irresolution, although most great tragedies defy such a simple interpretation. The hero's suffering and its reverberations are disproportionate to the flaw. An element of cosmic collusion among the hero's flaw, chance, and other external forces is essential to bring about the catastrophe.
In Greek tragedy the nature of the hero's flaw is even more elusive. Often the tragic deeds are committed unwittingly, as when Oedipus unknowingly kills his father and marries his own mother. If the deeds are committed knowingly, they often are not committed by choice; Orestes is under obligation to Apollo to avenge his father's murder by killing his mother. Also, an apparent weakness is often only an excess of virtue, such as an extreme probity or zeal for perfection which, in turn, may suggest that the hero is guilty of hubris—i.e., presumption of being godlike and attempting to overstep human limitations.
"Hamartia." Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Literature Resource Center. Web 14 Apr. 2010.
Based on the above discussion of the tragic hero and tragic flaw, identify a hero we have studied who appears as a tragic hero and explain what makes this hero a tragic hero.
Be sure to give well developed responses, and respond to the posts of at least two of your classmates.